Number of asylum seekers in hotels down 50%

Number of asylum seekers in hotels down 50% The total had climbed as high as 56, 018 at the end of September 2023.

Key points

• It stood at £4.36 billion in 2025-26, down 8% from £4.76 billion in 2024-25 and the second annual fall in a row.
• The number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels stood at 16, 021 at the end of June 2026, down 50% year-on-year from 32, 041.
• A total of 85, 891 individuals applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2026 compared with 108, 585 in the previous year.
• When applications stood at 75, 668, it is the lowest 12-month total since the year to June 2022.
• The total had climbed as high as 56, 018 at the end of September 2023.

Police outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex when it was applied to house asylum seekers (PA).

Notably, the number of asylum seekers being housed temporarily in UK hotels stood at 16, 021 at the end of June 2026, down 50% year-on-year from 32, 041.

It is the lowest figure since data was first documented in 2022, Home Office figures show.

For context, the total had climbed as high as 56, 018 at the end of September 2023. Home Office spending on asylum in the UK has additionally declined.

Notably, the total covers all Home Office costs related to asylum, including direct cash backing and accommodation, plus wider staffing and other migration and borders activity, but it does not include costs relating to intercepting small boat migrants.

Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood remarked the figures demonstrated her Administration is "restoring control at our border and fairness to the migration system".

For context, the Labour Administration has pledged to end the apply of hotels for asylum seekers by the end of this Parliament.

Another 13 such hotels closed earlier this month as Andy Burnham's Administration continues the process of moving residents into alternative accommodation.

Ministers are increasing the employ of more 'basic' sites including former military barracks (PA).

Notably, the total number is now below 160 – having peaked at around 400 under the Conservatives.

Responding to the latest figures, Ms Mahmood remarked: A little over two years into office and the asylum backlog is down, the number of asylum seekers in hotels is falling, illegal working arrests are at record levels, and deportations and returns are up markedly.

Small boats numbers are additionally now falling, but we are not complacent and there is more we must do.

That is why I have boosted enforcement on the French beaches and overseas and introduced new legislation to tackle the pull factors that draw individuals here through unsafe and illegal routes.

"This Government is restoring control at our border and fairness to the migration system."

Home Office figures published on Thursday additionally reveal that the number of individuals who applied for asylum in the UK is down by 21%.

In practice, a total of 85, 891 individuals applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2026 compared with 108, 585 in the previous year.

When applications stood at 75, 668, it is the lowest 12-month total since the year to June 2022. The asylum backlog has additionally gone down.

There were 40, 168 individuals waiting for an initial decision on an asylum application in the UK at the end of June 2026.

Taken together, the developments around number of asylum seekers in hotels down 50% point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.